Peace, Love, and a Quarter Life Crisis: A 60s Themed Birthday

Today is my 25th birthday! Yikes, that’s a whole quarter of a century… looks like I’ve got to grow up and take things more seriously.

But last Friday I was still 24, so I threw a 60’s themed birthday and we all dressed up like hippies and other hilarious 60’s TV show characters and whatever we thought 50 years ago looked like. The food, the music, and the costumes were all given thumbs up by my mom, so I felt like that gave me the stamp of approval.

We had an incredible time, and I thank all of my guests for really getting into the spirit of things. Mad men, presidents, and a clan of hippies were in attendance and participated in drinking, dancing, and 60’s themed trivia that Megan and I put together. I included our trivia below as a printable, it was a ton of fun for a bunch of nerds like us!

My tips for throwing your own 60’s themed party are as follows:

Make a 60’s playlist! Your guests will love singing along to the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan while they travel back in time. You can go on to Spotify and find almost everything you need (The Beatles aren’t up there, so you may have to add your own tunes to the mix). The grainy quality of the music of that time is really something special.

Fondue + Jello Molds = 60’s food and a magnitude of happy guests. I actually made this jello shot mold and this fondue recipe (swapping out the emantel cheese for swiss), both of which were gobbled up by my guests. They are also hilarious to see on your counter in 2015 – why did we ever stop serving these dishes?

Tips on the jello mold: When you start the recipe, spray your mold with cooking spray to keep it from sticking. To get the jello hardening to move faster, you can place the jello in the freezer… and when you leave it too long and it gets too solid during the layer making process, you can also melt it over the stove or in the microwave. Finally, to get the jello out of the mold, place the bottom of the mold into a bowl of warm water for about 3-5 seconds and then top with a plate and flip. If it doesn’t come out, just place it in the water a little longer to help the sides melt. (Note, my fear of the jello mold in the picture below.)

Tips on the fondue: You can swap out the emmental (cheese I couldn’t find) for swiss and leave out the kirsch if you don’t have it. Make sure you heat the mixture for long enough and make sure that the cheese and wine fully combine. Mine separated and we had a mess of a time getting it to come back together. You can also add some cornstarch to help with this.

Tell your guests to dress up. I was really impressed with what people could find to wear. If you want to be lazy, most people can find a $5 tie-dye shirt to throw on, but there are also a lot of 60s/70s trends out there right now in stores. All of the items I wore to the party were purchased in the last month and truly could be worn again… though all together felt quite costume-y to me. Other non-hippie themed outfits include: mod dresses, Mad Men inspired suits and cocktail dresses, anything from Hairspray, and presidents.

If you are so inclined, add some decor to your place that include rainbows, flowers, war propaganda, and peace signs. I will put up another post on my fave DIY’s for 60’s decorations next week. 🙂

Though I had the main food elements handled myself, I knew I wanted to give my guests a little more to snack on. Coincidentally enough, I was contacted by Zifty to try out their food delivery service in Houston. Crazy Julia hours before a party with no time to go out and get snacks = the need for delivery!

It was so easy to use Zifty. I went on to their website, checked out the options, ordered some appetizers and set the delivery time. I was able to get hot appetizers delivered straight to my door right before the party started! If you are sick on the couch looking for some hot soup or having friends over and need a quick bite, try out Zifty and let the food come to you.

Overall, thanks again to all of my friends and family for another fantastic birthday! I love you all for your support in my childish birthdays, even if we are all getting older…